


Flash Fanfiction - Episode 20 - A Snowy Flashmas

by Mindmarvel



Series: Flash Fanfic Introducing Mind Marvel [20]
Category: The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 15:30:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mindmarvel/pseuds/Mindmarvel
Summary: Christmas is fast approaching. Joe learns that he has a son he never knew about. The team receive a gift that turns out to be a villain in disguise. Barry and Caitlin are coming to terms with how they feel about each other, and Cisco and Harry wont stop bickering, which is driving Astrid and the rest of the team insane.





	1. Chapter 1

It was a week until Christmas and Barry sat in his living room. He had been waiting for Joe to arrive home, and for Iris to come round so that the three of them could hang up Christmas decorations. He had been tempted to do the decorating himself, but he knew that it would mean a lot to Joe to have them all do it together.

It had been weeks since the night he had spent with Caitlin. Neither one of them had spoken much, since that night and Barry knew that it would be wise to give her the space she needed. He knew that she was still grieving over Ronnie, and that knowing Caitlin, she would talk when she was ready.

Nothing had gotten by Astrid and Cisco, though. They had figured it all out and had interrogated Barry until he had given them the truth and nothing but the truth. They had even brought up the name Felicity a couple of times. But she and Barry only ever kissed, nothing really came from it. The truth was that they were concerned for Caitlin, which made Barry feel that she regretted being with him. So avoiding her was his best way to deal with things, instead of running head on as he usually would… no pun intended.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. That had to be Iris, Barry thought. But why would she knock, when she still had a key? Nonetheless, he got up and answered the door. But it was not Iris, nor was it Joe or anyone else he had ever met.

It was a young man, roughly Jefferson Jackson's age and he bore a striking resemblance to Joe.  
He also looked very uncomfortable, being there. "Er… I'm sorry I must be at the wrong house. Does Joe West live here?" the kid asked Barry.  
"Yeah, of course he does!" Barry said, "He's just not here right now, who are you? I can let him know you stopped by."  
"I really shouldn't have imposed," the man said, preparing to turn away, but Barry stopped him.  
"It's okay, come in. Sit down!" Barry said, as he looked at his phone, "Joe's at work, but he shouldn't be long. What was your name?"  
The kid hesitantly stepped through the door and looked around. "My name is Wally… Wally West."

"What are you doing?" Cisco demanded of Astrid as she stood on the top step of the ladder trying to put the golden star on the very large Christmas tree in the very center of the cortex.

"What does it look like?" she asked him, reaching even further, almost losing her balance.  
"Like you're going to fall down and break your neck!" he told her, he looked at Wells who was just standing around with a tablet in his hands. "Hey, you're the tallest one around here… You saw her doing it and you didn't stop her? Why didn't you help?"

"Because, I don't do holidays… I don't do Christmas! Besides, she's a little bossy. I thought it would be better to stay out of her way!" DR Wells said.  
Caitlin, who was hanging tinsel across the desks added "I tried to offer to help, but she refused."

"That's because you did it wrong. Astrid, get that butt of yours down here, now, before you fall!" Cisco said barking at her from the foot of the ladder.  
Astrid stepped down at him and smirked. "Right… Dad. You know sometimes I wish that you wouldn't keep mimicking my father! It just creeps me out how well you do it!"  
He took the star from her and bounded up the steps, "It works every time, doesn't it?" he laughed.

Astrid shook her head, frustrated at him and headed towards Harry. "So, what kind of man doesn't do Christmas?" she asked him.  
"One who has no reason to… I don't believe in it." Harry said.

"Is that for religious purposes?" Caitlin asked him, as she had finished with the tinsel.  
"No. I just don't." Harry said.  
Cisco who had succeeded in putting the star on to the tree made his way towards them. "Is that because you have no friends or family?" he asked.  
"Cisco, that's not a nice thing to say!" Caitlin snapped.

"Actually, it's the truth." Harry said. "So, can we drop the subject, now?" he made his way towards his office and closed the door behind him.  
"Nice one." Astrid said sarcastically to Cisco. He shrugged and went after the man to attempt an apology, he didn't mean to offend the man... that much.  
Caitlin and Astrid were left in the cortex. "Are you ready for the Christmas ball this weekend?" Astrid asked her friend.  
"I know where you're going with this, Astrid. Cisco already tried." Caitlin said walking away.

"What? I only wanted to know if you had something picked out." Astrid said with a smile, "You and I need another shopping trip."  
"Yeah... because, you have your motives. You want to ask me about Barry again, don't you?"  
"Look, I know you don't want to talk about it. But you and he have been so odd since it happened. You're still his doctor and I know, that even though you love Ronnie and you're still grieving over him, you also have feelings for Barry. It doesn't take a scientist to figure that out – I should know!" Astrid said as she stood beside her friend in her med-bay.

"Okay, you're right! But I shouldn't feel this way. Ronnie died a couple months ago, and even then we only had a few months together since we found him in Smallville, but we were still married." Caitlin said. She was really beating herself up over the whole situation.  
"Caitlin, you're allowed to feel the way you feel. Nobody can take that away from you. Besides, you and Barry have bonded a lot. Every time he gets hurt, he puts his life in your hands, you've never let him down because you care about him. You're…" Astrid began.

"Yeah. I'm his doctor… This is a breach of my authority, Astrid!" Caitlin argued.  
"Caitlin, you're also his friend! You sealed that deal when you joined our fold outside of work hours. He's hurting too. Because just as you have feelings for him…" Astrid's conversation was interrupted by Cisco slamming the door to Harry's office.

"That is one difficult hombre!" Cisco said raising his voice, "I tried to apologize… and he just turned it into another argument! No wonder he doesn't have any friends!"  
Astrid and Caitlin raised their eyebrows as they saw Harry leave his office behind Cisco, "…and it's because of people like you, Cisco Ramon, that makes me not want friends to begin with!" he said angrily. Cisco was taken aback. He wasn't expecting Harry to follow him out and hear him.  
"Ouch!" Caitlin said.

"Look, can we all just play nice for one day? Our Christmas ball… which, let me remind you, is to raise money for the poor children. It is this weekend, and we have a lot of work to do!" Astrid said trying to rally her friends, "We have toys being donated today, and yes this time I have organized a caterer… and decorators, unlike last time! Because Christmas is a stressful time as it is!"

Harry and Cisco continued to glare at each other, so she took hold of Cisco's hands and made him look at her. "Please… this will also be the first Christmas I'm spending without my father... So please, just do it for me, at least?" she pleaded with him.  
"Okay fine… You know I can't resist that face." He said with a smile.

"Good, because I have a job for the both of you… It will give the two of you a little bonding time." She said with a smile.  
"What? I should have known there was a catch!" Cisco replied.  
"You need me to work with him?" Harry asked, "Have I just been demoted or…"

"Nope, not demoted. But, I am supposed to be at a board meeting in ten minutes… and dealing with the guy who has been organizing all of our donations, down town, at the same time. So, I need you – Harry to meet with the man in charge of the donations… and Cisco, you'll like this bit. You get to ensure that the toys arrive in one piece."  
"Ok… I like that bit!" Cisco said with a smile.  
"You would… you over grown man-child!" Harry replied.  
"Hey!" Astrid said, "Play nice, the both of you! You're representing STAR Labs!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure your last name is West?" Joe asked Wally as he, Barry and Wally sat on the lounge in the living room.  
"Yeah, man. Are you saying I don't know who I am?"" Wally asked, annoyed

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend, but you can understand how much of a surprise this is to me. Tell me about your mother." Joe said, trying to make sense of the conversation.  
"My mother passed away just recently and I was given this letter." Wally said as he took the letter from his pocket and gave it to Joe. Joe read the letter, a few tears formed in his eyes.

"Hey, Joe. I'm going to give the two of you some space!" Barry said, as he stood and went to leave like a non-speedster.  
"Barry…" Joe began, but he knew that this kid in front of him was truly his biological son. So he let Barry give them some space.  
Barry arrived at STAR Labs.

Cisco, Harry and Astrid were not there, but he found Caitlin quietly going over some blood work in her medical bay. "Where is everyone?" Barry asked her, nervously.  
He startled Caitlin, making her drop an empty glass beaker onto the floor. "Barry, don't you ever knock?" she snapped.

"I'm sorry, Caitlin, let me help you clean that up." Barry said. Within a moment he had cleaned up the mess before she could refuse.  
"Thanks, Barry and to answer your question, Cisco and Harry have gone down town to organize the toy donations and Astrid is in a board meeting." She said as she got back to work, to avoid giving him any eye contact.  
"So, Joe has a son, we never knew about. He just turned up at the house two hours ago and claimed that his name was Wally West." Barry said, knowing that she was doing her best to ignore him.

"That's nice, Barry." Caitlin said half-heartedly.  
"Caitlin, is this how it's going to be between the two of us?" Barry asked her, "you ignoring me unless it's work related?"  
"Barry… You don't understand, I was actually married and…"  
"Caitlin, Ronnie would want you to be happy. You know that!" Barry said.

"Well, maybe it's not about what he would want. I feel guilty every time I'm around you. After Astrid awoke from her coma she had me watch over you. You have been my project for almost a year now, and at first I might have been protecting you because I felt that I couldn't protect Ronnie… but then you became the Flash and I was protecting you, not because of Ronnie, but because you were Barry Allen. But then Ronnie came back. I had him back in my life, and you were still there, and every time I have tried to push these feelings away, I can't. It's not right! You have always been amazing, Barry. You even organized and initiated my wedding! And then every time you get hurt, I wonder if this could be the last time that I will see you… and I don't want that. But at the same time, I'm reminded that I'm cheating on the memory of Ronnie… So, that is why…" Caitlin's words were interrupted by Barry kissing her. She had said everything that he had wanted to hear from her.

She let herself give in to the moment for a brief minute, but then she pulled away and made her way towards the elevator doors, which opened before her. Astrid was standing there.

She immediately noticed the awkward tension. "Caitlin. Are you okay?" she asked looking over at Barry.  
"Astrid, I'm fine!" Caitlin snapped, "You're meeting ran a little late."  
"You're angry that my meeting ran late?" Astrid asked, slightly confused.  
"Yes, I mean no… Just…" Caitlin stammered.

"Just if you had been here sooner, you could have stopped me from making a big mistake…" Barry said. He left before Astrid could ask him 'what mistake?'  
"Caitlin, what just happened? What mistake was he talking about?" she was tempted to read the girl's mind.  
"Barry kissed me." Caitlin said.

"Oh my god!" Astrid said excitedly, but when she noticed Caitlin's expression, she changed her tone, "Was it an unprovoked kiss? Or a… provoked kiss?"  
Caitlin turned away and marched towards her medical bay as she said, "Entirely unprovoked!"  
"Caitlin, I don't need to read your mind to know that you're lying!" Astrid said.  
"Okay, I might have… told him how I feel…"  
"In what words?" Astrid asked with a smile.

"I told him I liked him for being Barry Allen… and just how long I've been hiding these feelings for."  
"Aww Caitlin! This is so exciting! We should all double date some time!" Astrid said with a hint of excitement for her friends.  
Before Caitlin could argue, they were interrupted by Cisco and Harry entering via a breach in the middle of the cortex.

"I was right when I called you an over-grown man child. Can't you just shut up for one moment?" Harry barked at him.  
"Yeah well, you're a dick! There's no other word to describe you! Actually there is, You're a jerk too!" Cisco snapped back.  
Caitlin and Astrid stared at the two of them, in frustration. "I seriously asked the two of you to play nice for one moment! You can't even do that!" Astrid snapped at them as she stormed into her office and slammed the door behind her.

Cisco and Harry's expression changed, "I told you that it was going to be a bad idea, Harry." Cisco said with a grin.  
"What was a bad idea, Cisco?" Caitlin asked him.  
"Cisco wanted to rile Astrid up a little. He said that if we came in fighting she would get mad." Harry said.  
"You wanted to make Astrid mad, Cisco?" Caitlin asked him confused.

"Yep. It's all part of my master plan." He said with a smile, he followed Astrid into her office and closed the door behind him.  
"What's his master plan?" Caitlin asked Harry.  
"He hasn't told me yet, he doesn't want her to read our minds and get it of out us." Harry said.  
"So, are you saying that you two got along just fine?" Caitlin asked.

"We did actually." Harry replied, "We're making a lot of progress." Wells received a message on his phone. It turned out that there was a life sized ragdoll being donated to the team at STAR Labs thanking them for all of their contributions. Harry showed Caitlin the message.  
"I would get Cisco to help with this delivery, but I think I'll let the two of them have some space." Harry said.  
"Good idea," Caitlin replied. "I'll help you bring it up."


	3. Chapter 3

Barry went over to Jitters, he sat at his table drinking his coffee. He needed to be alone and since Iris was now working over at Picture News and had been promoted as a reporter since her blog on STAR Labs, she barely hung out at the coffee shop. He figured that that was the reason she hadn't shown up to help hang up decorations.  
But Barry needed to think about what had just happened between he and Caitlin. Once again he had just run in head-on, after Caitlin had told him how she felt. He had kissed her, and she had given the impression that it was all a mistake.

What was he to do? He wished that he had Astrid's power of telepathy. Then he would know how to act when he was around her. Maybe his best option was to get advice from their friends, but they were very preoccupied with the Christmas Ball that was coming that weekend.  
Barry had an idea, he would ask Caitlin to go with him… when she calmed down and actually wanted to speak to him again. But then he wondered, what if she never calmed down? Caitlin could be like that. Once again, he figured that Cisco and Astrid would be the best people to ask.

He drank the last of his coffee, left the café and as soon as he was out of sight, he used his speed to get to STAR Labs, and didn't even knock before he entered Astrid's office. "I need advice!" he said quickly. He was overcome with embarrassment at the sight that beheld him. He had just walked in on his friends making out on her patient lounge, fortunately they were fully clothed.

They got to their feet abruptly and looked at him, "Man, don't you ever knock? You're so lucky that…" Cisco snapped.  
"I'm sorry, you guys!" Barry said preparing to turn away.  
"No, Barry. You need advice. What's going on? Is this about what happened earlier?" Astrid asked him.

"What happened earlier?" Cisco asked, looking from her to Barry.  
"He and Caitlin kissed!" Astrid said with a smile.  
"Really?" Cisco asked, "Was it an unprovoked kiss or a…"  
"That's what I asked," Astrid said, "Apparently it was a…"

"You guys!" Barry interrupted, "Guy with the crisis right here!"  
His friends apologized and waited for him to continue. Barry went to sit on the lounge but as he remembered what he had just seen he walked towards the chair by the door, "Is this a safe place to sit?" he asked his friends.  
"Er… Barry." Cisco began.

"Barry, what do you need our advice with?" Astrid asked getting straight to the point.  
Barry remained standing and said, "I want to ask Caitlin to the Christmas ball, but after everything, I don't think she will even go with me."  
"Are you asking us to ask her?" Cisco wondered out loud.

"No… that's not it. I just… I don't know. I just want her to say yes…" Barry began.  
Astrid thought for a moment, "I'm not going to compel her to say yes, Barry."  
"That's not it either…" Barry said.

"Barry, the reason she is so conflicted is because she feels guilty about how she feels about you. She just lost her husband a few months back. The only one who can change that is her." Astrid explained. "But I can continue to talk to her, provided you don't hurt her."  
"What do you mean hurt her?" Barry asked.

Cisco stepped forward, "Let me take this one," he said to Astrid. She nodded and let him explain, "Barry, Iris has always been your… wow, I can't think of a movie reference right now… umm… well, you've always thought of her as…"  
"Cisco, try explaining it without the movie reference… You'll get there…" Astrid grinned.  
"Gotcha!" Cisco said, "Barry, you have always been in love with Iris… like I was with my Jedi girl… that sort of love is hard to beat. But then you get your… distractions…"  
"Like Lisa Snart?" Barry asked him.

"Like Lisa Snart, exactly. Someone that just passes the time. But try as you might, you won't love that girl as much as… well…" Cisco looked over at Astrid, "As much as I love you." He said surprising himself at how much he meant it.  
There was a silence amongst the three of them.

"Okay, you guys…" Barry broke the silence, "you're afraid that Caitlin is just going to be a distraction to pass the time… but I don't think that she will be. I think that…" Barry realized that his friends had tuned out from him, still caught up in the moment.  
Barry wasn't expecting Caitlin and Harry to step into the office at that moment. But as they did, he blushed at seeing Caitlin standing there.  
"I think that you guys should come and see what's been delivered to us as a gift." Caitlin said, ignoring Barry.  
"I'm sorry, what?" Astrid asked, startled by their sudden presence.  
"It seems the Children's hospital put together a gift for us." Harry said, "They made a large rag doll."

Harry and Caitlin led the three of them out into the cortex, where they saw the life sized doll sitting on the chair. It had red woolen hair and was wearing a green suit. The material to its face looked almost lifelike.  
"Am I the only one who has seen Chuckie? And Anabelle?" Cisco asked, "Because that doll, right there, is what nightmares are made of."  
"So, you guys said that this thing was made by the children from the hospital?" Astrid asked Harry and Caitlin.

"Well, that's what the guy who delivered it said." Caitlin replied.  
"Okay, well… who are we to turn down a gift made by sick children? Even if it looks like that… I suppose we will have to formally receive the gift on the news later, so…" Astrid said.  
"You mean that we're keeping it?" Cisco asked her.

Barry walked towards the doll, studying it. "It looks kind of cool. Look at his red bowtie!" He said. "Do you want to name him, Cisco?"  
"The Rag Doll? The only name that comes to mind is Chuckie… and that one is kind of taken… so he can stick with the Rag Doll…" Cisco said, staring at the thing. He didn't want to go anywhere near it.


	4. Chapter 4

When Iris arrived at Joe and Barry's house, she apologized immediately for being late and then looked around, to see that Barry wasn't home, instead there was some young man that she had never met. "Dad, where's Barry? And who's this?" she asked.  
Joe got to his feet and stared at her. She could tell that he had been crying. "Iris… There's something that I need to discuss with you… this is your brother, Wally."  
"Dad, how is that even possible? Mom died!" Iris asked as Wally stood up next to Joe.  
"I think we all need to sit down and talk about this," Joe said, "Come sit down, Iris."

"No, Dad! I can't believe that you lied to me all this time! You said that she was dead! Where's Barry? He's probably over at STAR Labs with those friends of his. I'll go and get him so we can forget about all of this and just get to decorating the tree already." She left angrily, before Joe could tell her not to go.  
"Maybe I should leave," Wally said as he made his way towards the door.  
"No, son! Don't go! She's just surprised, that's all!" Joe replied.

"Look, it's clear that I'm a little late to be a part of this family. My own biological sister doesn't even want to know me, so I'm going to just go!" Wally stormed out the door before as Joe tried to stop him from leaving, to no avail.  
When the door slammed shut, Joe sat on the lounge and reread over the note, with tears in his eyes. "I wish you had told me, Francine. I never would have let you go!" he said under his breath.

Cisco and Harry stood in DR Wells' office, with the door closed. "I need you to hide this!" Cisco said, handing the man a small red box, about the size of his fist.  
"What is it?" Harry asked him.  
"I can't say. It's top secret and the last thing I need is too many questions, right now!" Cisco said frustrated.  
"You expect me to just hide something, when I don't even know what it is? We live in times of terrorism and villains at every door… This could be a bomb, you already said that you don't like or trust me very much!" Harry replied.

"Don't get me started on just how insane that sounds! Grr! Why do you always have to make things so difficult?" Cisco snapped at him, "Just hide it, would you!"  
Suddenly, Astrid walked through the door, just as Wells took the box from Cisco and hid it behind his back. "You guys… I need to hide, it's about to get very tense out there…" she said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. She noticed the awkward tension in the office, "…and it seems there's tension in here too… what's going on?" she asked looking at them both.

"Nothing… absolutely nothing! Right, Harry?" Cisco said, giving him a look.  
"Right. Nothing at all…" he replied.  
"So, what's going on out there?" Cisco asked, deflecting the attention from he and Wells.  
"Barry was moments away from asking Caitlin to the Christmas Ball, and as I was leaving… Iris asked to be buzzed up… So Caitlin buzzed her in…" Astrid said.  
Cisco grinned, "It would be a bad idea to listen in, right?"

Astrid grinned, "I thought the same thing… Quick, pick up the phone!"  
Harry rolled his eyes at the two and subtly hid the box for Cisco, as the pair picked up the phone to listen to the conversation that was being had from in the cortex.

"Hi, Caitlin, thank you for buzzing me up! Barry, are you aware who is at home with dad right now?" Iris asked as she entered the cortex, to see Caitlin sitting at the desk in her medical bay and Barry standing next to her.

"Yeah, apparently he's your brother, his name's Wally or something…" Barry replied.  
"Wow, the decorations are really beautiful, you guys! Nice work! That doll sure is creepy though!" Iris replied, "Anyway, Barry, I actually came to ask if you are going with anyone to the STAR Labs Christmas Ball… Work want me to write a piece on it and I was going to ask if you'd go with me… You know… because it's like we never hang out anymore, ever since… well, you know!"

Barry remembered what Cisco had been saying about Caitlin being seen as a distraction, and clearly it was exactly how Caitlin was feeling. He watched as she stood up from her chair and tried to excuse herself.  
"I really shouldn't be here for this conversation…" Caitlin said ready to make her way to DR Wells' office to find the rest of the group.  
"Actually, Iris..." Barry said taking hold of Caitlin's hand, "I kind of already asked Caitlin to be my plus one. I'm just waiting on her answer."

That was a lie, he hadn't actually asked her, yet. But he was hoping that she would say yes, all the same. Once again, he was running head-on and taking a chance on her. Caitlin stared at him, wondering what his hidden agenda was, "Barry… I…" she stammered.  
"Look, even if it isn't a date… go with me as a friend!" Barry said to her, still holding her hand.

"Okay, I'll go with you… but only as friends… that's it!" Caitlin said. She let go of Barry's hand, bypassed Iris and headed towards DR Wells' door.  
As she opened the door, she saw Cisco and Astrid quickly putting down the phone.  
"You guys were listening in?" she asked them.  
"Nope… why would we ever do that? That's an invasion of your privacy, Caitlin!" Cisco said, with a smile.  
Harry rolled his eyes.

"So? You and Barry?" Astrid said with a smile.  
"We're only going as friends… that's it. Besides, he's still in love with Iris. Everybody knows that."  
"Sure, Caitlin… That's totally how it is. I'm taking you dress shopping after work… to find you something stunning!" Astrid said, adamantly. Caitlin couldn't help but blush a little.

As Barry and Iris stood alone in the cortex, Iris felt a little uncomfortable by the scene she had just witnessed. "So, you and Caitlin, hey? I guess it's kind of cute! I probably shouldn't have walked in, when I did."

"It's fine, Iris. I understand how you must be feeling about just finding out that you have a brother. I was even a little shocked!" Barry replied.  
"Speaking of the long lost brother... I should go. I feel bad for the way I left things with dad." Iris said. She picked up her bag, which she had left on the table next to the rag doll and left.

They were all unaware that the Rag doll had reached into her hand bag and stolen some money, while they had all been distracted.  
Barry left to go find his friends who were all still in Harry's office.


	5. Chapter 5

After most of STAR Labs had gone home for the evening, DR Wells and Cisco had decided to stay back and finish up on some work. Cisco was currently applying the thermal threading to Barry's suit, while DR Wells was holed up in his office.

Barry was currently at a family dinner, while Astrid and Caitlin had gone shopping and then for a girl's night.  
As Cisco finished his lollypop, he threw the stick, aiming for the bin that sat next to the rag doll. It missed. "Hey, buddy… Would you mind picking that up for me?" he asked the Rag doll. He laughed to himself, knowing that it was impossible.

He stitched the last of the suit up, and stood up to put the lollypop stick in the bin. To his surprise, the stick was no longer on the floor but in the bin.  
He did a double take and assumed that he had actually managed to get it in the bin, without realizing. He looked at the Rag Doll and laughed nervously to himself as he went back to his desk.

He admired the work that he had done on the suit "I'd like to see the cold blasts affect Barry, now…" he said to himself, and dressed the suit on to the mannequin beside him. He took the mannequin over to the display case in the wall, putting it away neatly.

But, when he turned around, something caught his attention, the Rag Doll was no longer in its seat. Instead, it was now sitting at Cisco's desk. "What the…" he said.  
A loud noise from behind him made him jump. "Ha! I scared you!" Wells said from behind him, he had just left his office.

"You mean you moved the doll to my desk?" Cisco asked him, "because no, that wasn't scary… I knew that it was you…"  
"What are you talking about? I just closed the door and it scared you!" Harry said.  
"You mean you didn't move the Rag Doll?" Cisco asked him.

"I may be a jerk, but I'm not a child!" Harry said. He walked over to the Rag Doll. "I think you've been working too hard. This guy can't move!" Harry lifted the Rag Doll's arm and let it drop down again.  
"This guy's thick! Just like you Cisco…" Harry said.  
"…And you're an asshat!" Cisco replied, he turned away from Harry and then turned back again, "…and a dick!" but as he said the next sentence, he saw that the Rag Doll had a hold of Harry's throat.

"Man, you really like to insist on jerking me around, don't you?" he said, not believing that the Ragdoll was really choking the man.  
It wasn't until Harry begun gasping that Cisco reached into his pocket and pressed the emergency alert to contact Barry.  
As the Flash arrived, Harry was thrown to the ground and the Rag Doll sat back in its seat as if nothing had happened.  
"Cisco, where's the emergency?" Barry asked immediately.

"That Rag Doll! It had Wells by the throat!" Cisco said in panic.  
"Really? That Rag doll?" Barry asked Wells who was gasping on the floor.  
Harry got to his feet and began poking at the Rag Doll. "I don't believe it! It's actually breathing!" he said.  
Barry inspected the Rag Doll. It wasn't breathing. "Look, I get that the two of you like to joke around, but I'm sorry. Right now, I don't have time for these jokes. We're trying to welcome Wally into the family and this really means a lot to Joe." Barry said, leaving abruptly.

"So, we're on our own?" Cisco asked Harry.  
"So it would seem." Harry said, convinced that he had just experienced what he thought he had.  
"Any ideas to prove this guy is real?" Cisco asked.  
"I might have a few…" Harry said, holding up a scalpel. He wanted to scare the Rag Doll. As they looked back over at the chair, they realized that it must have had the desired effect, for the Rag Doll had disappeared.  
"Hey, Dexter… First, we need to find him." Cisco said.

"I'm sorry about that! I had to go to the bathroom!" Barry apologized to Joe, Wally and Iris as he returned back to the table in Amarasia Oasis.  
"That's fine." Wally replied, "Tonight has really been a blast. I'm glad that I didn't leave town, earlier."  
"Yeah, I'm surprised that you didnt. What changed your mind?" Joe asked.  
"I guess, it was something that my mom…" Wally looked over at Iris as he spoke, "Correction, our mom… said. She said that she did a lot of bad things, but to be patient with you all."

"I still don't get why you told me that mom died when i was younger." Iris said looking at Joe, who shuffled nervously in his seat.  
"I think I can," Wally said. "When she found out that she was pregnant with me, she went to rehab, which was not long after she left. She told me that she did a lot of things that she regretted and it would have been hard to explain the truth to you, Iris."  
Iris was still angry, she had had enough of this conversation, so she decided to change the subject. "Dad, did you know that Barry and Caitlin are going to the Christmas Ball together?"

"Hey, how did I get pulled into this one?" Barry asked.  
"Oh, is that true son?" Joe asked, surprised, "That was not what I was expecting to hear."  
"Yeah, he asked her today!" Iris clarified.

"That's great, Barry. Caitlin is a great doctor and an even better person. Are you sure that this is what you want?" Joe asked him.  
"Yeah, it is. Everyone keeps asking me that, but Caitlin… I don't know… she's special… but can we just drop this conversation already. This dinner was about getting to know Wally." Barry said redirecting the attention from himself.  
His phone received a message. It was from Caitlin. "I brought the most beautiful dress for this weekend." He smiled at the screen.

"Astrid, I can't believe that you just did that!" Caitlin said to her friend as the two of them were sitting in Astrid's living room eating pizza, drinking wine and watching movies.  
Astrid had just sent a message to Barry's phone, claiming that it was from Caitlin, "Oh come on. You're excited to go with him, and admit it you wanted to send him that message, but you were too scared to."

"You read my mind again, didn't you?" Caitlin asked.  
"Yep! I'm sorry. I've seen the way you two look at each other. I've never seen you gush that way about anyone. One thing I've learnt from Cisco is that when you love someone… you have to let them know..." Astrid said.

"So where are the two of you in that department?" Caitlin asked her.  
"What do you mean?" Astrid asked.  
"Have you told him how you feel about him?"  
"Not yet… but he has. Today, in fact."  
"Really? Wow. Why didn't you tell him?"

"I'm not sure. I guess, I'm actually afraid…" Astrid said, "can we change the subject? This one is getting a little too deep! Oh, I have some news for you… Sara Lance is in Star City!"  
"Astrid! What's going on with you? Why didn't you tell him?" Caitlin insisted.  
"Because, the last time I told someone I loved them, it was my father and he died… no scrub that… I told Cisco in the alternate time line and he died… and then I died… There's a whole lot of dying when it comes to me telling people I love them."

"I'm pretty certain you just said that if you love someone, you have to let them know…You're always telling me to let go of the past, that fate doesn't control us… we make our own destinies, bla bla bla."

"Ok, I get it. Let's just get back to the movie…" Astrid said.  
"You're beginning to sound like your boyfriend," Caitlin smiled.  
"…and if you and Barry both play your cards right… The Flash will be your boyfriend!" Astrid said with a smirk.

Caitlin threw the cushion at her, just as Astrid's phone rang. "Speak of the devil… It's Cisco." She said to Caitlin. Astrid answered the phone and had to question how many drinks that she had had. She put the phone on speaker so Caitlin could hear too.  
"Cisco, Caitlin and I have had a little too much to drink… can you please repeat that?"  
"...The Rag Doll is alive!" Cisco said.


	6. Chapter 6

Cisco breached Caitlin and Astrid over to STAR Labs so that he and Wells could explain in detail just what was going on.  
"How much did we have to drink?" Caitlin asked Astrid.  
"Only two glasses, Cait." Astrid replied, "Not enough to believe that this is just some drunk antic. So where's Chuckie?" she asked.

"He's gone missing so we need help to find him; and Barry is out at dinner with Joe, Iris and Wally." Cisco explained.  
They looked over at Caitlin to see how she would respond at the thought of Barry and Iris out to dinner together, but Caitlin only shrugged it off. "Well, we don't know where this doll is. So let's go find him… The Rag Doll, I mean, not Barry."

"This would be a whole lot easier if we had a little help from our speedster." Wells added.  
"Hey, he didn't believe us. So why should we bother him?" Cisco argued.  
"I'm just saying that he could scour more places faster than any of us!" Wells snapped back.  
"Harry, I can breach just as fast!" Cisco raised his tone at the man.

Suddenly the two of them received headaches bringing them both to their knees, but not causing any permanent damage. "Stop it, the pair of you! We've all had enough of your constant fighting! If the two of you can't get along, how do you expect us to function as a team!" Astrid snapped at them, both.  
She relieved them of the pain in their heads and they got back up to their feet and stood quietly.  
"Sorry, Astrid." DR Wells said.  
"Yeah, I'm sorry too… it's just that Harry…" Cisco began.

Astrid glared at him, she didn't want to hear any more excuses.  
Caitlin smiled and said "thanks for that Astrid, maybe we might get a little work done."  
"I'm sorry you guys… I don't know what came over me," Astrid said, feeling guilty for causing pain to her friends.

"It's okay, you're right… we need to work together, and stop fighting as much." Cisco said putting his arm around her shoulder.  
"I'd hate to break up this moment. But let's get looking for that Rag Doll!" Caitlin said, "we should probably split up and cover more ground. Harry, you and I will cover floors fifty to one hundred. At least I can run the thermal imaging filter on the security footage, that will give us a head-start. Astrid and Cisco you guys have the lower floors."  
"Way to take charge, Caitlin!" Astrid said, impressed with her friend.

"I learn from the best!" Caitlin smiled back.  
After they had all applied their communicators, Cisco breached he and Astrid down to the lower floors, "This power makes things so much easier… no more stairs or elevators for me!" he said with a grin.  
Caitlin ran to her computer and pulled up the security footage for the site, she ran the thermal imaging filter to detect heat signals.

"I meant what I said, things would go much faster if we had Barry," Wells told her.  
"I know, but he's with his family. We shouldn't bother him…" Caitlin answered back, not taking her eyes from the screen.  
Wells walked into his office and flicked on the light, as someone covered his mouth from behind him with their hand. It was the Rag Doll. As Wells turned to face him, The Rag Doll looked into his eyes. "Sit down, Harry."  
Wells felt compelled to do as the Doll asked of him. "You will be my servant, Harry."  
"I will be your servant." Harry repeated, in a trance. The doll was capable of hypnotism.

Astrid and Cisco reached the third level, Astrid preformed her mind scan of the floor. "He's not here!" she said.  
"You know we have an entire floor to ourselves…" Cisco said trying to charm her.  
"…and we have a job to do, Cisco. So, let's focus on finding this doll!"  
"You've barely said anything, since I told you that I loved you, today." He insisted.  
"Cisco, now is not the time… Can you just breach us to the next floor, please?"

"Not until you tell me what's going on with you." He said, as she made her way towards the stairwell door. He followed her and turned her around, while holding her hand, "For a mind reader who is trained in psychology, you're pretty clueless when it comes to your own emotions aren't you?"  
"Cisco… I…" she said.  
"That's a start... Keep going!"

"Grr. You make me so angry." She said, frustrated.  
"Why? Because I want you to be honest with yourself… and me, for that matter?"

"You want honesty?" she snapped, "Every time I say those words… something happens. They were the last words I said to my father? You were there… you remember… and then, the alternate timeline. I told you how I felt and that didn't work out too well, we both died. I'm cursed. Our lives are cursed. I would say that curses are impossible, but then everything in our lives, meta-humans, aliens, living dolls… all these things which should be impossible, are actually our reality…"

Cisco broke into laughter, which confused her.  
"What's so funny?"  
"You're afraid to tell me how you feel because you think that I will die, or you will die or the whole world will crumble."  
"It's not as funny as you think. It's pretty possible…"

Cisco held her close, "that's good. At least I know that you do feel something. I was afraid that this was all a little one sided. It's good to know that it's not. I just wish you would open up to me. I'm an open book, not to mention you can read my mind… but you… as long as I've known, you have always been a mystery to me."  
She rested her head on his shoulder and spoke softly "I'm sorry if you see things that way, because no, it's not one sided. I do love you, Cisco, more than i have ever loved anyone. I don't know how i would cope, if i ever lost you."

Although, she had spoken these words so softly, he had still heard them. They made him smile.  
"Maybe, we should get back to work." he said, "we still have to find the Rag Doll… and then we can finish this conversation later."

As Caitlin ran a scan of their current floor, she wondered why she hadn't preformed that search in the first place. She had spotted three orange silhouettes on the footage. One was her and two were in Harry's office. She needed to make sure that Harry was okay.  
As she got up from her seat, she saw Harry leaving his office. "there's someone in your office!" she said, "did you see him?'

"I don't know what you're talking about, Caitlin." Harry said in an odd sounding tone.  
She was taken aback by Harry's peculiar behavior, he began to walk towards her, she started walking backwards. "Harry, are you okay?" As she continued to walk backwards, she felt herself bump into someone. She turned, the Rag Doll was standing right behind her.  
She quickly reached into her pocket and pressed the emergency alert on her phone to summon Barry, just as the Rag doll knocked her out.


	7. Chapter 7

As Barry arrived on to the scene, he was met by an ice blast. He hadn't yet been able to put his suit on so the blast had crippled him. But as he turned to see what had hit him he turned to see Harry holding his thermogun.  
"Harry, what are you doing?" he called out. "Where's Caitlin?"

Harry didn't respond, instead he aimed his weapon, ready to shoot at Barry again.  
Though, before he could pull the trigger, the weapon itself was struck with an ice blast, from Frost. Harry dropped the gun as a reaction.  
"Frost, what's going on here?" Barry asked, as he began phasing his legs. Frost restrained Wells before the man could find another weapon. "I'm not sure, but Caitlin and Harry were both hypnotized by some Rag Doll. Thankfully I wasn't. We need to find Astrid and Cisco before the doll finds them."

"I feel so bad for not believing Cisco and Wells, before," Barry said as his speed had come back.  
"Well, here's your chance to make up for it! Go put on your suit… Don't worry, Caitlin isn't looking." She joked.  
Barry cuffed Wells to the table and put on his suit and took a hold of Frost. "Cisco, where are you guys?" Barry asked through his inbuilt communicator."  
"What? Now, you show?" Cisco said, unamused.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't believe you…" Barry replied, "I never should of…"  
Frost rolled her eyes, "Bromance later… let's just find this doll and be done with!" she said.  
"Right, Cisco. We're in the cortex… meet us he…" Before Barry could finish his sentence, a breach appeared across the room. Cisco and Astrid stepped out.  
"What happened to DR Wells?" Astrid asked, seeing him cuffed and still in a trance state.

"It turns out the doll is capable of hypnotism… Would you mind reversing the effects Astrid?" Barry asked.  
She stepped up towards Harry. "You're free from your trance state, Harry!" she told him. It was that easy, he slipped from his hypnotic state.  
"What happened to me? Why am I cuffed to this table? Barry? You actually came…" Wells said, as Barry freed the man.  
At that point Cisco had taken charge of his computer and was going through the security cameras. "How do we find a toy who doesn't want to be found?" he wondered out loud. But then he saw it… "BINGO!"

"What? What did you find, Cisco?" Barry asked him.  
"He's down in the main hall with all the toys and donations." Cisco readjusted his goggles to his face and created another breach to the hall.  
Harry who had just seen the icicle that Frost had made of his weapon, was disappointed. "Did you really have to freeze my thermogun, Frost?" He took the it, regardless.  
"Look, we can argue about this, later! Let's go, let's go!" Astrid demanded as she waved them towards Cisco's breach. Barry was the first one through, then Frost, then Wells followed by Astrid. Cisco was the last one through as he closed it behind them.

Once they reached the quiet hall, Harry switched on the lights. "I thought you said that he was down here, Cisco. What a waste of time."  
Astrid glared at Wells, he stopped talking as he remembered the headache from earlier.  
As they stepped towards the enormous 20ft Christmas tree, filled with thousands of toys they found it hard to see the Rag Doll amongst the toys.  
"Wow, couldn't we have gone with a bigger tree?" Cisco asked with humor, "I mean, I think the mall was selling them at least a couple more feet higher than this one."

"Shut up, Cisco…" Astrid said with a grin, "Let's just find this guy."  
Barry ran around the tree, searching for the Rag Doll, creating a vortex around the Christmas tree and the presents that surrounded it. The group stepped backwards to not get caught within the energy.  
"Please don't break anything, Barry!" Astrid said under her breath."

Suddenly the circling vortex stopped. "I think I found him!" Barry said as he pulled out a life-sized Rag Doll with a green suit. He dropped it to the floor, and it fell in bundled a heap.  
"Are you sure that's him?" Astrid said in doubt. "He looks pretty doll like."  
"That's where he tries to fool us!" Cisco said. The group turned back towards the tree, wondering if there had in fact been another one. But from Barry's peripheral vision, he saw the doll stand up. It contortioned it's body in the most awkward of ways.

"You guys…" Barry said. They turned and looked.  
"Is it a doll or a meta-human?" Frost asked.  
Astrid's stomach turned as she watched the contortionist, nonetheless, she scanned his mind. "Neither, Just, a naturally bendable man… and he's been… stealing from us?" She held out her hand, "Hand everything over, now!"

But the contortionist refused. He smiled at them with that same Rag Doll smile. Barry quickly cuffed him, "Well then, you'll be going to prison." Barry said.  
The Ragdoll let out a creepy laugh, as he twisted his wrists free from the cuffs. The cuffs dropped to the floor and he ran off. "Hey, not so fast!" Barry said as he raced after him and restrained him again.

"We're going to need a tranq for this guy!" Cisco said. He made a breach back to the 97th floor and Wells went with him.  
The Rag doll broke free from Barry's restraint again. Frost created an ice wall around the two of them, so the Ragdoll had nowhere to go.  
Astrid focused on his mind, to compel him to stop what he was doing. But he had mentally strong will. So instead she implanted his head with a severe crippling migraine.  
"He's strong you guys." She said! "I've never put my mind up against a hypnotist before."  
"How are you doing?" Frost asked her.

"Good, but I wish the guys would get the tranq-gun, already."  
"Do not fear… Cisco and Wells are here!" Cisco said as they arrived in time.  
"Why do you always have to say your name first? I'm the one holding the weapon…" Wells shot back.  
"You guys!" Barry said.

Harry aimed the tranq at the Rag Doll and shot. It brought him down immediately.  
"See what happens when we stop fighting?" Astrid told Harry and Cisco, "We actually get things done!"


	8. Chapter 8

The next day was the day before the large Christmas Ball. CCPD had arrested the Rag Doll after finding that he had been responsible for a string of robberies over Christmas time. They had ensured that he had been locked away in a confined cell where he couldn't escape.

Astrid and Caitlin stood in the cortex doing a few last minute checks for the next night. While Harry and Cisco were in Dr Wells' office.  
"Where the hell is it, Harry? I knew that trusting you with something so important would be a bad idea!" Cisco shouted.  
Astrid and Caitlin sighed. "I had really hoped that they had stopped their fighting." Astrid said.  
"You and me both. Maybe we should organize some team bonding programs." Caitlin suggested.  
"Maybe, if you had told me what I was looking after, I would have known the best way to keep it safe!" Harry snapped back at Cisco.

"Speaking about team bonding…" Astrid said, as she saw Barry arrive from over Caitlin's shoulder. She nodded towards him, making Caitlin turn. "I'll leave the two of you to talk."  
Astrid went to take her leave, but Barry asked her to stay, he handed her a small bag. "Joe retrieved all the stolen merchandise from the Rag doll man, whose real name was actually Peter Merkel… He found this and asked me to return it to you."

Astrid looked inside of the bag. Inside of it was a small red box, the size of a fist. She pulled out the box and took a look inside. "How did he ever get a hold of this?" she asked. It was her mother's old wedding ring.

Cisco and Harry walked out of Harry's office to see what she was looking at. "Umm. Astrid… I can explain that." Cisco stammered.  
"Well, you better. Why the hell would you have it?" Astrid asked. "This thing has been missing since we were in high school. I thought that my dad had pawned it a long time ago."  
"Can we talk? you know… in private? Where no one picks up the phone receiver and listens in?" he asked. She went with him to her office.  
"Did we just ruin a possible proposal?" Barry asked, "Because that's what it felt like."  
"It did, didn't it" Caitlin asked.

"At least I know what he was trusting me with," Harry said. "I think I underestimated just how much faith that guy had in me." He took notice of the awkward tension between Caitlin and Barry. "I'm just going to go to my office." He said, excusing himself.  
"So, are you sure that you want to go to the Christmas Ball with me, tomorrow night, Barry?" Caitlin asked, "I mean, Iris seemed pretty interested in going with you. She actually seemed a little jealous… That's not what you were hoping for, was it?"

"No, Caitlin. I asked you, because I want to go with you. I know that you're probably thinking that I'm using you as some sort of rebound or a distraction for Iris… but I'm not. I want to go with you, and I would appreciate it… though, it doesn't have to be… but I would love if it could be a date… just remembering I know everything that happened with you and Ronnie. But I want to do it because I want to go with you… and maybe even get to have a dance… Are any of my words making sense? Because, right now they are coming out of my mouth quicker than i can control them." Barry rambled.

Caitlin laughed a little, "Yes, Barry, they are making sense. Did you really only come to the rescue last night because I sent the alert?" she asked.  
"Yeah, I did. If it had been Cisco or Wells, I would have ignored it. But I thought that you were in trouble. So, I didn't have time to hesitate."  
"Okay, Barry. I'll go with you… as a date… to the Christmas Ball." She said.  
All of a sudden the emergency alert went off. Barry who was beyond blushing redder than the Flash, collected his suit and left to deal with the emergency, leaving nothing but a gust of wind behind, blowing Caitlin's hair.

"Cisco, I'm waiting for you to explain. Barry and Caitlin can deal with that emergency alert." Astrid said angrily as she sat in her chair in her office. Cisco, who hadn't yet taken a seat was shuffling his feet nervously, in front of her. "Right now, is one of those times that I wish you would just read my mind because this is kind of hard to explain." he said.  
"Well, I'm not going to. Be a man and explain how my mother's ring ended up in the hands of that thief." She told him.  
"Okay, do you remember how your father was like a dad to me?" he asked her.

"If you're about to tell me that he gave it to you to give to some girl when you eventually wanted to propose, I'm going to slap you!" She said angrily.  
"Don't slap me… because that's half the truth…" Cisco said, making her stand up and look at him at eye level.  
"Explain!" she snapped again.

Cisco took a breath and then answered. "He's known just how much I've loved you, even when we were younger… even when you were with Oliver and I had to cover for you so you could leave the house at night… Your dad knew that you were out and about, but I would sit with him and we used to work on projects as if he were actually my father. He was lonely when your mom died and when you were never home he felt like he didn't have a proper family… and I was dealing with the same thing with my family. He gave me the ring because he knew that one day we would be together, and he said that if he wasn't there when it happened… he would want me to give you, your mother's ring."

"How the hell would he have known that?"  
"He said something about us being fated or something. Which was weird because, like you, your dad always relied on cold hard facts!"  
"Cisco… I don't actually know what to say…" her tone had softened at this point, "Why wasn't it hidden better? You would think that something like this would be kept…"  
"…safe guarded from you until the time was right? Why do you think I wanted that idiot Wells to hide it? You would never think that I would trust him enough to look after it… but then that Rag Doll guy stole it!"

"So, why would you bring it to work, why now?" she asked him, afraid of the answer.  
"Because I wanted to propose to you at the Christmas Ball." He said softly under his breath.  
Astrid was speechless. She sat back down in her chair. She probed his mind, he was telling her the truth. How stupid had she have been. It would have been a beautiful proposal too.

"I'm sorry, Cisco." She said softly.  
"That's okay… I'll think of doing it another way… I'm sure I'll come up with something."  
"No, Cisco. I mean that we can't get married… not just yet."  
"What do you mean?" he asked her, he felt as if his heart was breaking.

"Cisco. I want to… I really do, but. I don't know… maybe I'm just scared. Weddings are generally cursed." She said.  
"Astrid, you're pulling the cursed card again? Really? What happened to my logic and rational thinking Jedi girl?" he was trying to hold his temper.  
"I don't know. I mean, I love you more than anything, but right now. I think I'm just afraid. I always thought that I would have my dad walk me down the aisle. But there's been a lot of impossible things, not to mention the telepathic ape that ruined Caitlin and Ronnie's wedding."

"Okay, I get it. How bout we drop it for now." Cisco said as he went to leave the office.  
"No, Cisco. Don't go!" she said, but he didn't listen.

Meanwhile, as they had been having their conversation, Wells had stood outside of her office door. He had heard Cisco speaking of Robert's opinion of them being 'fated'. From everything that Harry had read on Robert, the man was well-known for fact and logic. So why would he cling to fate in relation to his daughter? Harry knew that he needed to find out.


	9. Chapter 9

Barry picked up Caitlin and brought her to the Christmas Ball, they were currently standing outside. Caitlin was dressed in a green silk gown that clung to her figure. "I always love when we hold events like this," Caitlin said, "There's something about dressing up in a gown and dancing all night that takes me back to high school."  
"Well, your gown is absolutely beautiful," Barry said with a smile, "Not as beautiful as you are though… I meant that…"

"Barry, I know what you meant… let's just go inside." She said, as she took his arm and led him through the open doors.  
As they entered the crowded hall they saw numerous people, some that they knew and many that they didnt. But then, over by the punch bowl they saw two people that they knew very well.  
"I didn't know that Oliver and Felicity were coming!" Barry said, a little surprised.  
"Weren't you and Felicity seeing each other?" Caitlin asked him.

"Seeing each other? No, we kissed, but that was it. We actually talked after I woke up from my coma. She's in love with Oliver."  
"But Oliver doesn't reciprocate those feelings." Caitlin said, as she gestured to Oliver walking towards Astrid and Cisco.  
"Caitlin, are you okay?" Barry asked her, realizing that she seemed a little off.  
"I'm fine… I guess, it's just a little daunting. The last time we came to one of these… Ronnie was here." She said.

"Oh wow, how could I forget? You know what, tonight… let's just forget about everyone else, let's go and dance." He took her hand and invited her to the dance floor.  
"Let's do it, Barry. Last I knew… you were great on your feet!" she said with a smile.  
Barry laughed at her joke and kissed her on the cheek, the two of them started dancing.

"Hi, Ollie, Hi Felicity!" Astrid said as she and Cisco were approached by the couple.  
"I didn't realize the two of you were coming." Cisco said, noting the glass of champagne in Oliver's hand. Oliver seemed a little tipsy. "Oliver… How much have you had to drink? Don't we normally save getting drunk for after these events?" Astrid asked.  
"Can I speak with you, Astrid? You know one on one?" Felicity asked her.  
"Sure," Astrid replied, leading the girl away. "What's going on, Felicity? Is Oliver okay? He has this…"

"…This dark cloud over his head? In a word, no. I don't think he's okay. Last night, his mother was killed… by this man named Slade. He isn't taking it very well. Sara returned to Star City, and now, she is gone again too. Oliver wanted to come here, he said that you are the only one he wants to speak to. You know that he's in love with you, right?" Felicity was close to tears.  
"Felicity, I'm with Cisco. How am I supposed to help him? But yes i know he does, back when I first received my powers and I came to Star City, he told me."  
"He doesn't know that you and Cisco are together. He keeps holding out for hope." Felicity said looking over at the two men.

"Hey man, is everything okay?" Cisco asked Oliver after an uncomfortable moment of silence.  
"Not really… Cisco. But I had to come tonight. We haven't seen you guys since Gotham and things have been pretty bad in Star City. I was hoping to… you know what? never mind…" Oliver stopped speaking as he saw Astrid and Felicity walking towards them.

"So, Felicity told you about my mom, didnt she?" Oliver said to Astrid.  
"Yeah, Oliver. I'm so sorry!" she replied.  
"It was either her or Thea… He made me choose, I couldn't… I just couldn't…" Oliver looked at them, "You know what, I really shouldn't be here ruining every body's night." He went to leave. Felicity took his arm.

"Felicity, Just leave me alone!" he snapped at her, making people look over at him. She removed her arm from him and was stunned that he had talked to her in such a way. Just as Oliver left, Ray Palmer arrived to speak with Cisco.  
"Cisco, can you and Ray wait here with Felicity?" Astrid asked, "I am not going to let him get away with talking to her that way!" Astrid left angrily through the doors, that led to the street, after Oliver.

Back on the dancefloor, Caitlin and Barry were enjoying their time. They hadn't yet spoken with their friends, but they had become enraptured within each other. Suddenly, the song Galaxy came on. "Hey, our song is on." Barry said.  
"Our song?" Caitlin asked.

"Remember? We sang this at karaoke, that night." Barry laughed.  
"Huh! That would be Astrid and Cisco's doing, they created the playlist." She said, amused.  
"…I'll travel at the speed of light, so I can be right by your side…" Barry began to sing under his breath, making her giggle.  
"Oh no! Don't start singing, Barry." She said.  
"Ey, there's no time or space… everything just melts away…"

"Shh, Barry!" Caitlin tried to stop laughing, but she couldn't.  
"I'll stop singing, if you make me!" he teased, "…in your galaxy…"  
Before he could sing anymore Caitlin kissed him. As the music played, and people danced around them, they shared a long passionate kiss.

Astrid had followed Oliver out into the car park, where he was standing alone with his back to her. "How dare you talk to Felicity that way, Oliver! I get that you're hurting. But you can't just go around treating people like that! Particularly, her. She cares about you! I'm so disappointed in you."  
"I get it! I'm still a jerk! I'm still the same Ollie that you dated back when you were in high school…" Oliver said as he turned around.  
"No, Oliver. You're not a jerk. You're just acting like one. You said you had to choose between your mother and Thea… I can't imagine how hard that would have been." Astrid said.  
"You've had it hard too… remember back in Smallville?"

"We're not talking about me right now. You need to vent… I get that… But Felicity, you didnt treat her very well!" Astrid began.  
"I'll apologize to Felicity later… but right now…" Oliver stopped speaking midsentence he ran up to Astrid and kissed her.

They hadn't seen Cisco approach from behind, but he had seen the moment that Oliver had kissed his girlfriend. The moment he saw what had happened, he ran back inside of STAR Labs. He felt the moment that his heart had shattered into pieces.

Astrid pushed Oliver away from her. "What are you doing, Ollie! Get off me! I'm with Cisco! I love Cisco! Don't ever do that again!"  
"I'm sorry, Astrid… I shouldn't have done that… I'm going to go…" Oliver took off into the night, as Astrid went to find Cisco. She found him as he was heading towards the elevator.

"Astrid, don't! I just saw you and Oliver, don't try to stop me. I need to go away for a little while." He snapped at her.  
"Cisco. Oliver kissed me. I pushed him away. Because, I love you! It's always been you!"

"But you're not brave enough to even consider me proposing to you? I know that you say that you love me, but right now, maybe we just shouldn't be together!" he said as he pressed the call button to the elevator. "I'm going up stairs to collect my things. Please, don't try to follow me."  
"Okay." Astrid said. She couldn't stop the tears from falling as he stepped into the elevator. The doors closed behind him, breaking her heart.


	10. Chapter 10

Instead of attending the Christmas Ball, Harry had stayed in his office. He had ransacked the office, looking for any traces of the old Robert Sutherland. As he sat back down in the chair, his eyes stared above the door way. Something peculiar had caught his eye in the white wall, above the frame itself.

He stood up from his seat and ran his hand along the wall. It held a secret compartment. As he pushed the wall in, something released and a small draw came out from in the wall.  
Inside the wall was a dark brown journal. Robert Sutherland's journal. He closed the draw and brought the journal over to the desk. As he went to sit down, a folded note fell from the inside and landed on the floor.  
He picked up the letter and read.

"My Dearest Astrid. If you are reading this, it means that I am no longer with you and that you have inherited STAR Labs and everything that we have worked so hard to achieve.  
I must confess a secret that I could never bring myself to tell you, while I was alive. This news might break your heart, but the words have to be spoken.  
Your mother and I, as much as we have both loved you as if you were our very own, are not your true biological parents. We only ever met your father. His name was Kent Nelson. He gave you up at a time when he was in danger. He made us vow to love you as if you were our own, or else your life, too would be in jeopardy. After we had lost our own child, we could not bear such a cruel fate to befall another child.

I am sorry that you might feel that you have been living a lie. But for what it's worth, I hope that you have found the happiness within your life. Just as I hope that Cisco is still a very important person to you. Just as he has always been like a son to me. He has always loved you, just as your mother and I too, have always loved you.  
I wish you all the best in your future, love always, your father Robert Sutherland."  
Suddenly the noise of someone slamming things around in the cortex, made Harry jump. He got to his feet and opened the door to find Cisco packing his things. He had tears in his eyes.

"Are you okay, Cisco?" Harry asked.  
"For your information, jerk! I'm not fine! I'm leaving, I can't be here!" Cisco snapped.  
"What's happened?"

"Look, I don't need to tell you anything! You're just some imposter who thinks they can come in here and take over everything, as if she were all yours!" Cisco snapped.  
"I take it that we're not actually talking about me, here?" Harry asked.  
"No, I'm sorry. Oliver Queen, actually. The rich playboy bachelor, Astrid's ex-boyfriend, just kissed her. I suppose that it's a good thing I never proposed to her, she would have said no, anyway." Cisco said.

"So, where are you going?" Harry asked  
"I already messaged a friend of mine from Gotham City. I'll only be gone for a couple of weeks, just to sort my head out."  
"You're sure?" Harry asked him.

Cisco opened a breach before his eyes, "Yeah, I'm sure. Look after the place for me? Don't let any scary Rag Dolls destroy it, while I'm gone?"  
Harry nodded and as the breach closed behind Cisco, Harry thought back to the name in the letter. Kent Nelson was really Astrid's father. Harry had indeed met a Kent Nelson before, but he wasn't sure if it was the same one. This Kent Nelson was also known as DR Fate.

Yet, Astrid had been struck with an interesting twist of fate, including the fact that this was the only earth that she had survived and inherited STAR Labs.  
But one thing that Kent had said in the past had struck Harry at that exact moment. The words being "There are no coincidences."  
Theoretically speaking, DR Fate could indeed be Astrid Sutherland's father, which would have been why Barry was sent to save her.


End file.
